Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce with Vanilla and Bourbon

Homemade salted caramel sauce is rich, creamy and buttery, with hints of vanilla and bourbon. It’s the perfect salty sweet topping for ice cream, cakes or brownies! This delicious sauce can seem intimidating to make yourself, but with a few best practices, you can easily make your own salted caramel sauce to keep on hand for drizzling, dipping, or just eating straight from the jar with a spoon.

Looking for more caramel recipes? Don’t miss these caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies, caramel apple crumble, and vanilla caramel cake.

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Ingredients

• Water. A little water helps the sugar dissolve more easily when you cook the sugar. The water also promotes even heat distribution, as cooking dry sugar for caramel is more prone to burning.
• Granulated Sugar. Sugar sweetens the caramel, of course, but as the sugar cooks, it caramelizes and darkens to a deep amber, which is what gives caramel its signature color and flavor.
• Light Corn Syrup. Since corn syrup is an invert sugar, it inhibits the formation of sugar crystals, which can lead to a crystallized mixture that can plague cooks when attempting homemade salted caramel sauce. A couple tablespoons of corn syrup is all you need to prevent crystallization.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. Without cream, the sugar would quickly harden again, so the fat and dairy in heavy whipping cream keeps the caramel smooth, creamy and spreadable. It’s important to warm the cream first, as cold cream can cause the hot sugar to seize and clump.
• Unsalted Butter. Like the cream, the fat in the butter adds richness, creaminess and depth of flavor.
• Salt. The salt balances the sweetness of the caramel and enhances the flavors. You can use coarse Kosher salt, or a beautiful flaky finishing salt like Maldon.
• Vanilla + Bourbon. The vanilla extract and bourbon is optional, but I love the flavor they add to salted caramel sauce.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Instructions

Cook the Sugar, Water and Corn Syrup.

• Be sure to use a saucepan with at least a 10-cup capacity. This is because the mixture will bubble up furiously when you add the cream to the boiling sugar.
• Combine the water, sugar and corn syrup in the saucepan. Use a wet pastry brush or a damp cloth to wipe any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan. Wiping the sugar crystals off the sides of the pan helps to prevent crystallization of your salted caramel sauce.
• Set the pan on the stove over low heat to dissolve the sugar, without stirring. When the mixture begins slowly bubbling, increase the heat to medium. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the mixture is a deep amber color. The entire cooking process should take less than 10 minutes, and the color will deepen very quickly towards the end. Immediately remove the pan from the burner.
• Take care not to burn the sugar. If it gets too dark, it will start to smell scorched, and your salted caramel sauce will have a bitter taste. You cannot walk away from the stove while you’re cooking the sugar – pay close attention to the appearance and smell as it starts to darken. See my the photos below for what the boiling sugar should look like.

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Stir in the Hot Cream.

• While you’re cooking the sugar, pour the cream into a small saucepan and set over low heat to warm the cream just until hot.
• When the sugar is ready, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the hot cream into the bubbling sugar. It will bubble up quite a bit, so stir until combined.

Add the Butter and Salt.

• Add the butter and salt, as well as vanilla and bourbon if you choose, stirring until smooth. If there are any small lumps of sugar that seized up and won’t smooth out, you can just pour the caramel through a wire mesh strainer to remove them.

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Cool the Caramel.

• Let the caramel cool for about 10 minutes, then pour into a glass jar. It will thicken more as it cools.
• Refrigerate the caramel for up to 2 weeks. Straight from the refrigerator, it will be thick enough to use as a dip, such as for apple slices. Let it warm up to room temperature, or gently warm in the microwave at 50% power for a thinner, drizzling consistency to pour over ice cream.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Will another sugar substitute work for making homemade salted caramel sauce?

• No, you cannot use other sugar substitutes to make a successful batch of caramel sauce.

Do I have to use heavy whipping cream?

• Yes, the high fat content of heavy whipping cream is necessary for the best texture and consistency in your salted caramel sauce. Table cream, light cream and half and half are not suitable replacements.

Do I have to add the corn syrup?

• Technically, no, you don’t have to add the corn syrup, and many cooks make caramel sauce without it. It does prevent the sugar from crystallizing, though, and I’ve never been able to make a successful batch of caramel sauce without adding the corn syrup.

How long does it take to cook caramel sauce?

• The cooking process should only take about 10 minutes. Since the sugar caramelizes so quickly, it’s important not to walk away from the stove and keep a close eye on the boiling sugar so it doesn’t burn.

How long does the sauce last?

• Stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator, homemade salted caramel is good for about 2 weeks.

Why is my caramel bitter?

• If you let the sugar cook too long and get too dark, it will scorch, giving your caramel a burnt, bitter flavor.

What can I use salted caramel sauce for?

• Use it as a dip for apple slices.
• Drizzle it over ice cream, brownies, or pound cake.
• Serve it with cheesecake.
• Pour it over slices of apple pie.
• Make salted caramel buttercream.
• Stir it into your morning coffee with cream.
• Serve with anything chocolate.

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